Fisetin

Fisetin (7,3′,4′-flavon-3-ol) is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols.

It can be found in many plants, where it serves as a coloring agent. It is also found in many fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, apples, persimmons, onions, and cucumbers. Its chemical formula was first described by Austrian chemist Josef Herzig in 1891.

The biological activity of fisetin has been studied in many laboratory assays; like other polyphenols, it has many activities.

Cui et al. from the Department of Neurosurgery Department of Pathology, Baoding First Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei Province, China evaluated the neuroprotective efficacy of fisetin against the experimental model of spinal cord injury (SCI).

SCI was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats by placing an aneurysm clip extradural. Rats were treated either with vehicle or fisetin for 28 days after SCI.

Treatment with fisetin significantly attenuated SCI-induced alternations in mechano-tactile and thermal allodynia, hyperalgesia, and nerve conduction velocities. SCI-induced upregulated TNFα, interleukins, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cox-2, Bcl-2-associated X protein and caspase 3 mRNA expressions in the spinal cord and these were markedly reduced by fisetin. Spinal nuclear factor kappa B and nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor-alpha protein levels were also significantly downregulated by fisetin. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of the spinal cord suggested that fisetin significantly ameliorated histological aberrations such as neuronal degeneration, necrosis, and inflammatory infiltration induced in it.

Fisetin exerts neuroprotection via modulation of nuclear factor kappa B/nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor-alpha pathway by inhibiting release of inflammatory mediators (inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-II), proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukins), apoptotic mediators (Bcl-2-associated X protein and caspase-3) ¹⁾.